Detroit Red Wings at Pittsburgh Penguins Expert NHL Picks 4/4/2019

Thursday, April 4, 2019

PPG Paints Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Detroit Red Wings head to PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, April 4, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Red Wings at +160 and the Penguins at -185.

Detroit has a record of 32-38-10 this year. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 222 goals and surrendered 261 goals for a point differential of -39. For the year they have an ATS mark of 32-48-0 and an over/under record of 37-41-0. Pittsburgh has a record of 43-26-11 this season. They are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 264 goals and given up 233 for a goal differential of +31. Their record against the spread is 43-37-0 while their over/under mark is 34-40-0.

Valuable Detroit Red Wings Betting Trends

The Detroit Red Wings are 32-48-0 straight up this year

The Detroit Red Wings are 37-41-0 against the over/under this season

Important Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Trends

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 43-37-0 straight up this year

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 34-40-0 against the over/under this season

Key Detroit Red Wings Injuries

04/02/19 D Danny DeKeyser Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs Pittsburgh
04/02/19 C Frans Nielsen Undisclosed is out for season
04/02/19 GO Jonathan Bernier Upper Body is questionable Thursday vs Pittsburgh
04/02/19 D Jonathan Ericsson Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs Pittsburgh
04/02/19 RW Luke Glendening Undisclosed is out indefinitely
04/02/19 LW Thomas Vanek None is questionable Thursday vs Pittsburgh
03/31/19 C Michael Rasmussen Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/21/19 D Mike Green Illness is out for season
03/21/19 D Trevor Daley Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/18/19 LW Justin Abdelkader Foot is out indefinitely

Key Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

04/02/19 D Brian Dumoulin Lower Body is questionable Thursday vs Detroit
04/02/19 D Kris Letang Upper Body is questionable Thursday vs Detroit
03/17/19 C Evgeni Malkin Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/15/19 C Zach Aston-Reese Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/27/19 D Chad Ruhwedel Upper Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Dylan Larkin has scored 73 total points this year for the Red Wings. He has 32 goals this season with 281 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He has a total of 41 assists on the year and averages 21.8 minutes played per contest. Andreas Athanasiou averages 17 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 30 goals on 213 attempts. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 53 points on the year. Jimmy Howard has 23 wins and 20 losses this season in goal for the Red Wings. He has 1,636 shots against him and he's surrendered 147 goals. He's made 1,489 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Phil Kessel has 79 total points this season for the Penguins. He has 25 goals this year with 207 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 54 assists on the year and averages 17.9 minutes played per contest. Sidney Crosby averages 21 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 33 goals on 212 attempts. He has 62 assists, giving him a total of 95 points on the year. Matt Murray has 28 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Penguins. He has 1,530 shots against him and he's given up 124 goals. He's made 1,406 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Red Wings have 74 total points this year, which is 27th in the NHL. They've scored 222 goals while giving up 261 scores, which has them ranked 21st and 8th respectively. They have had 211 power play chances and scored 37 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 18%. That is 21st in the league. The Red Wings have given up 239 power play opportunities and surrendered 52 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, ranking them 27th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.50% for the year. They allow 33 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is 18th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Penguins are 7th in the league with a total of 97 points this season. They have 54 power play goals on 220 chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 5th in the NHL. They've given up 220 power play opportunities and surrendered 44 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking 18th overall. As a team, the Penguins are 6th with a total of 264 goals scored while they've given up 233 goals this season, ranking 18th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 9.98%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 5th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Detroit is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.1%, as they've attempted 4,262 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,789 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 46.3% as they have 3,206 attempts while they have given up 3,717 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 28th in the league. The Red Wings start possessions in the offensive zone 48.8% of the time, which is 21st in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.2% for the season. That is 10th overall in the NHL. They have 2,516 face-off wins compared to 2,426 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That ranks them 9th in the league. On defense Detroit has 1,707 hits and they have blocked 1,072 shots from the opposition, putting them 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Penguins are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the season, which is 12th in the NHL. They have 2,413 face-off wins compared to 2,371 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 12th in the league. On defense Pittsburgh has 2,313 hits and they have blocked 1,209 shots from the opposition, which is 7th in the league. Pittsburgh is 19th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 49.2% as they've attempted 4,642 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,795 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.6% ranks 18th as they have 3,528 attempts while they have given up 3,586 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Red Wings/Penguins NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Detroit +160

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